drukenknight: what difference would it make? It would not change the final ranking of players in a tournament if you count a draw as 0 or 1/2.

In some old tournaments they would do this: Players played each other twice but if there was a draw they would replay the game with colors reversed. If you had white now you had black etc. if you drew again then both players did not get a score for that game.

So maybe you are referring to that.

If you do it that way, then yes it does make a difference, a drawing master like Petrosian or Schlechter or Capa.a might not do as well as an attacker

Giuoco Piano Man: Is any site following these games live? And does anyone know the schedule of play? As for this draw- sometimes a first round draw is just the two players "feeling each other out" as it were. They both have much at stake- Kramnik is defending his title- and Garry is no doubt thinking about his reputation- In my opinion Kasparov is the greatest player ever and yet the last time he played he was booed by the audience of chess fans live on a T.V broadcast seen around the world. He has to be thinking about that! Speaking as one of his real fans- I just pray to God that he quickly returns to his old form.

Spitecheck: Actually it would change the standings, the player (A) who drew every game would have the same score as the player(B) who lost all his games bar the one he drew originally with (A)....Sound to complicated? Okay draw offered...?

ksadler: It wouldn't surprise me if every game between each of Ponomariov, Kasparov, Kramnik and Leko would be drawn in this tournament. Since for sure they will be in matches against each other, why show your hand? It's of course Kasparov and Kramnik will not both win their matches and not have to play each other, but if they do, why not save your innovations for then?

drukenknight: If there are too many draws, simply decrease the time control. do we really need see a 5 hour game of chess?

Play game in 20 or game in 30. I know do a round robin for the first couple of rounds game in 10, then the semi finals play game in 15, the final games in 20. Or whatever. You could play an entire tournament in one day.

ongyj: I think the idea of switching sides is very innovative! But cutting time control is out of the question. In the past, many heroic games are produced in the classical time controls(1st 40 moves within 2 hours, next 20 with 1 hour and ...). Today, with the GMs already mugging openings from computers, cutting the time simply makes the battle of wits meaningless ie. it further decreases the quality and playability of this royal game...

ksadler: I haven't seen this posted here, but GM Ashley feels the same way about draws and makes the same number of points that we all do (in this forum as well as in Kibitzers cafe). Here is the link for those interested: http://www.chesscenter.com/twic/ash...

sangfroid: I beleive that Kramnik was playing for the draw with his knight luring the h pawn maneuver. I personally belive that Kasparov has a nice defense going for him, and has the better side towards a nice end game with his well placed peices. Anyways, after the Bxh6 sacrafice, it is drawn with perpetual check. Kasparov could prevent that with Kh7, which only exposes his king to possible check, and I believe weakens his position, and he would rather accept a draw then weaken his position a bit to play for a win. Well, thats my belief.

Bears092: <ksadler>
I disagree with just about everything Mr. Ashley writes there. He puts the entertainment value of a large, but most uncaring, audience over the tournament strategy of chess players who do this to make a living.
If you are a player who is still learning, there is no reason to avoid a good battle. If your livelyhood depends on your performance, sometimes it would be better to take the half point when offered.

Reisswolf: Here's another suggestion to discourage grandmaster draws: award 3 points for a win and 1 point for a draw. This way, a win will be worth more than two draws, and this will convince players that it is more profitable to pursue a win rather than draw twice. (They use pretty much the same sysetm in soccer.)

I do think that the spectators have a "right" to a good, fighting game of chess.

technical draw: <refutor> Simply changing the mathematics at the end of a standard scoring tournament is inconclusive since the dynamics of playing would be different under a different scoring system. But I liked your idea anyway.

ughaibu: In the UK there used to be a talent show in which the worth of a contestant's act was judged by audience response using a "clapometer", that would be a fun way to divide up the prize fund. I think the loser's play is very important but in order to avoid rehearsed games one would need weighting for the winner, say 60-40.

Benjamin Lau: Ruylopez900, Kramnik wouldn't have been able to claim the center as his own anyway. If he had played 3. e4 or 4. e4 (I'm assuming this is what you are referring to), then Kasparov would have been able to put a lot of pressure on the center, eventually causing Kramnik to push e5, possibly overextending his pawns. In either case, while I don't argue that Kramnik might have been playing for the draw, you cannot claim that he was playing for the draw simply because of his timid setup Nf3, e3, etc. That's how he plays all the time. It's his style.

As it stands, a draw looks correct. Black has the better piece placement and pawn structure in my opinion, but white has much more space to maneuver with.

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